The Borno Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation, Youth Empowerment and Sports, Mr Saina Buba, on Monday denied an alleged threat of physical harm to opposition.
Buba made the denial while addressing newsmen in his office in reaction to a viral video which stirred widespread concern in Maiduguri.
Recall that while speaking on Saturday in Maiduguri during a campaign inauguration event organised by the City Boy Movement, a political support organisation for President Bola Tinubu’s second-term bid, Buba was quoted as saying: “We are now playing politics. Whoever shows us a finger, we will show him a finger. Whoever dares to show us a finger again, we will break his finger,” a statement he denied targeting oppositions.
Meanwhile, the commissioner insisted that his statement was twisted in order to create an impression that he was referring to oppositions.
“The meeting was purely APC members gathering, not political parties. It’s a City Boy Movement which was designed to promote economic empowerment, self-reliance, skills development and improved livelihoods, among party loyalists.
“We in the APC observed that immediately after the party’s primaries, some aggrieved members have started playing anti-party politics, and we felt it’s necessary to call them to order by telling them those who vote for APC candidates will be fed with honey, while those who don’t will be caned.”
Buba said that it was a figurative statement which simply means that “our empowerment and other welfare packages will be limited to loyalists, and nothing for those who are engaged in anti-party activities.”
The commissioner said that he had no apology over his statement, which was directed to the gathering of like minds who agreed to be faithful to the ideals of APC as a party.
He also said that as the 2027 electioneering campaign started, members of the public should expect a volume of attacks from the opposition.
“There is no opposition in Borno, as our party will clinch all elective positions in view of numerous people-oriented projects executed by the State and Federal Governments,” he added.
